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#INDAvAUS: I don't pay attention to sledging | Virat Kohli

India captain says he has understood things better with age and is more aware of what to do and what not to

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(From left) Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Umesh Yadav during India’s nets on the eve of the first Test in Pune on Wednesday
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Should they? Should they not? Will they? Will they not?

Much of the talk ahead of India's four-match series against Australia has been centred around whether the Aussies should have a go at Virat Kohli with words on the field.

Some former Australian players have warned the current team against doing that, saying it only makes him hungrier for runs, as was evident in the 2014-15 series Down Under. Some others still believe it might be the best gamble against a batsman who is increasingly looking difficult to remove by conventional cricketing means.

Australia captain Steve Smith said he doesn't mind his teammates having a go at Kohli, or any other India player for that matter. David Warner reckoned sledging the Indian captain might hurt them. Glenn Maxwell too said he'd steer clear from doing so.

Multiple people, multiple voices, one subject, one man.

Bother to hear from the horse's mouth himself?

"I don't pay any attention to it. I do my job on the field. I play a certain brand of cricket which I have always played," Kohli said on the eve of the first Test here on Wednesday.

It means he won't back off if words are thrown at him, neither will he be shy of initiating a bit of banter himself against the Aussies.

But while his aggressive brand of cricket has remained constant, Kohli is no longer a player who would lose his temper and his mind and focus along with it after being sledged at.

"Obviously with age, you tend to understand things better and you become more aware of what needs to be done and what doesn't need to be done. A lot of people lacked a lot of patience with me initially. They wanted me to be a 35-year-old matured guy when I was 22, which doesn't really happen. I have gone through my gradual process.

"I am pretty confident of where my game stands and pretty comfortable with myself as a person now. People writing articles or speaking about certain things, that's their job. I have no control over it. I focus on my game and that's the priority for me," he added.

Kohli's focus is also on winning the series against Australia. After the one-off Test against Bangladesh, the Indian skipper had labelled the England series as the most challenging for his team in this home season.

That statement would imply that he doesn't reckon the young Australia outfit can ask as many questions to the hosts that the Englishmen did. However, Kohli said England were challenging for a reason.

"We thought England were a top quality side with a lot more experience that what Australia has right now. England was a very tough series. To start off with the draw (in Rajkot), it was not a convincing draw from our side. It was more of not letting the opposition win.

"From there on, we turned things around. That took a lot of character, and the team is in a different mind space ever since that first game in Rajkot. We come into this series much more confident and much more sure about us as a squad and what we want to do," he said.

Kohli seems sure about himself as batsman and captain. Wonder if the Australians are about sledging him.

Captaincy has helped both Smith and me, says Kohli

Virat Kohli said the responsibility of leadership has done him and his Australian counterpart Steve Smith a world of good in their respective careers. "Captaincy does not allow you to be complacent at any stage. You tend to focus a lot more on certain situations, which you might or might not without the extra responsibility on your shoulders and may play a loose shot. Captaincy requires you to be on point throughout the game. That's one thing which has worked well for me and Steve Smith as well. He has been performing consistently with the bat and as captain as well. It's the same scenario there. Captain's responsibility has urged him to focus a bit more in certain situations and push that much extra for his team and that has shown in his performances. He is the No. 1 Test player in the world, and there's a reason for that," he said.

'Anil bhai has played a role in channelling aggression'

Virat Kohli's evolution from being an over-the-top young cricketer to a responsible captain has majorly come from within, but the India captain said current head coach Anil Kumble also played a minor role in bringing about the change. "I was working on those things already on a constant basis. I wanted to learn from my mistakes and evolve as a person. Anil bhai coming into play has channelled it much better in terms of his experience. He was a very aggressive player in his head as well. But he knew when to use that aggression and how to channel it. So, he has helped me in that aspect a little bit," Kohli said.

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